A “chore” is the best word to describe UglyDolls: An Imperfect Adventure. Just because a game is aimed at children isn’t an excuse for lazy, uninspired design. With a boring world, mind-numbing and repetitive missions and a waste of its source material, this is one game not worth your time, no matter what your age.

It’s actually surprising just how good World War Z is.

Even with its lack of replayability, you should buy Katana Zero right now if you’re a fan of action games with great tales to tell. When its thumping music kicks in, you know it’s time for action of the highest calibre.

Mortal Kombat 11’s combat is fluid and intuitive, and even when you’re losing it’s a joy to play. It’s a game that's fun just to mess about with, but once you master its nuances it becomes even more rewarding. Once a gory joke, Mortal Kombat has evolved to become one of the most accomplished fighters you’ll get your hands on.

it’s hard not to be very impressed with what Imperator: Rome has to offer. The feel of the game is exactly what Paradox promised: a true test of management of early civilisation on the brink of modernisation. You can develop your nation and expand to your heart’s content – but like the mighty Romans, you must constantly look outwards to your neighbours and inwards to your own people for threats and disturbances. Imperator: Rome truly has the depth and versatility to become one of Paradox’s finest.

I can’t think of many other open world games that pack in as much character, as much wonderfully crafted narrative that Days Gone does. Sure, it’s a story about a world overrun with a deadly virus. But it’s also a story about people, about hope, about survival. It's at times uplifting, others heartbreaking. Couple that with Days Gone's beautiful setting and a varied array of well-designed story missions, and you're left with something pretty special.

Ploughing through both games is going to take at least 100 hours, probably closer to 200 if you’re thorough. They may be close to 20 years old now, but these Final Fantasy games still have charm.

Without a doubt, the Switch version of Cuphead is the best. It’s still not the game I think it could have been, but the ability to play it anywhere and at anytime really does do it wonders. It may be a straight port, but it’s a bloody good one.

Like any game on Switch its portability is a great boon, and while the visuals are clearly compromised when playing in handheld mode they don’t detract from Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen‘s brilliantly absorbing gameplay. For action RPG fans that are on the go, it’s an absolute must.

It’s up there with the likes of Hotline Miami and Mr Shifty when it comes to providing exhilarating top-down action, and it has also got a great soundtrack. Coming straight out of nowhere, it’s undoubtedly one of the best games released this year, and is an absolute must for anyone who loves local co-op.

For those that eke fun out of balancing profits against supply and demand and don’t mind a bit of repetitive click-work, then Weedcraft Inc may well be engaging enough. But for everyone else, its divisive subject matter is mostly wasted on dull gameplay mechanics, so if you were hoping for an engaging and edgy management sim, you’re still better off looking elsewhere.

It’s the game’s zany but gripping narrative that’s the real star of the show, though. If science fiction interwoven with tales of family, loss, relationships and survival sounds like your thing, then Zanki Zero is worth a look.

An enchanting adventure, no doubt, and one that lasts quite a while. I just don’t know if it feels quite at home on Switch.

Thanks to its revamped visuals and a wealth of meaningful gameplay improvements, Borderlands Game of the Year Edition is without a doubt the best way way to experience a classic.

Iron Rain might just be my new favourite Earth Defense Force game. Sure, it doesn’t throw quite as many enemies at you, and performance isn’t as smooth as usual, but the latter issue isn’t so bad if you’re playing on a PS4 Pro. The improved visuals and gameplay tweaks make it more of an immersive and enjoyable experience, and that’s what really matters.

When you take Feather at face value, it’s a lovely little game to have on the Switch for times when you’ve had a stressful day and want something to distract yourself. It would be nice if the game offered some guidance or a simple mission structure to give you more purpose, but as Feather is right now, it’s enjoyable if you go in knowing it’s a short, relaxing, simplistic experience.

If you’re a steampunk aficionado then Vaporum will doubtless hold some appeal for you; it’s smartly presented and tells a tantalisingly haunting tale of man’s folly. But for those who aren’t as taken with steam power, Vaporum is a rather average dungeon crawler.

Playable in one or two long sittings, The World Next Door is an interesting mix of genres. It won’t set your world on fire, but what is there is pretty fun. Without much reason to replay, you probably won’t jump right back into Emrys when you complete the game, but it’s well worth your time at least once.

Despite its lack of challenge, Neo Atlas 1469 offers up a unique and enjoyable experience.

Mechstermination Force is enjoyably challenging, reasonably cheap, and mildly humorous. That makes it a success in my book.

Even if you’ve already played the first three Ace Attorney games, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy offers the opportunity to experience all those legal shenanigans on the big screen. And if you’ve never seen Phoenix Wright bluff his way to victory, it’d be criminal to miss out.

Its puzzles are challenging enough to keep you engrossed through its three- to four-hour play time, but its Silence‘s locations and environment design that will really make you fall in love with this game. And Spot, of course.

Disappointing is perhaps the best word to sum up Dangerous Driving. It could have been so much better, but instead it’s just passable fun. The saddest thing is, if you want a game that plays like classic Burnout, it’s the best option currently available. Like a cover band howling the tunes of your favourite but now defunct artist, it’s not a patch on the real thing, but you make do with what’s on offer. Dangerous Driving is good enough to provide some high octane entertainment, but it’ll still leave you craving a worthy Burnout successor.

It’s undeniable that Outward‘s combat is sub-par, and that its systems prove to be very punishing when combined.

A game of extreme peaks of troughs. At times it’s dreadfully boring; other times it’s wildly exciting. It doesn’t want to make your life easy, but then throws so much resources your way that being downed is trivial. It looks great, but it has a lot of bugs that will only make you able to view the game as ugly. Like Marmite, Generation Zero will dramatically split opinion. But it’s not just a matter of taste – Generation Zero‘s glitches and ill-implemented mechanics are just as much to blame.

Sure, there’s the odd misstep throughout the game’s 20-odd hour running time, such as some challenge rooms that feel shoehorned in, but on the whole Darksiders: Warmastered Edition is an absolute pleasure to play. If you’re after an epic action-adventure game to play on your Switch, look no further.

It’s not a perfect game, but it comes very close. FromSoftware, via Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Tenchu, and Bloodborne, has built this beautiful, mystifying, work of art. A work of art that demands your patience, persistent and the application of all of your skill to fully understand and enjoy it. But it really is worth the effort. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is yet another FromSoftware classic.

A triumph of a finale that gives the players – and the characters – the ending they deserved.